The
crisis in Kosovo is not the first time the nation has been at war for all the
wrong reasons, nor is it likely to be the last.It is a sad example of the government and media’s remarkable
ability to distort the truth in order to paper over the political reality that
the United States military is the aggressor and has been for decades.

President Clinton’s liberal
use of the term “ethnic cleansing” tragically misses the point; our bombs, the
primary cause of the massive flow of refugees across war-torn borders, have
actually accelerated the decimation of the ethnic Albanian majority in Kosovo.The disturbing images of Kosovar refugees
shown on the nightly news would quite possibly not exist if were it not for
NATO air raids that have made the region even more unlivable than before.The recent and questionably accidental
bombing of the Chinese embassy in Yugoslavia is another disgraceful example of
just how ruthless and haphazard NATO has been in carrying out a supposedly
peaceful mission.

The American media has
labeled Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic “The New Hitler.”But a closer look at the situation in the
Balkans reveals that although Milosevic may be a dictator, to equate his
military efforts against the Kosovo Liberation Army with Hitler’s systematic
murder of millions is to downgrade the widespread atrocities of the
Holocaust.The Kosovo conflict is in
essence a civil war, and though certainly horrific, it is not comparable to the
Third Reich’s infamous conquest of Europe.Furthermore, the KLA, a terrorist group based right here in the US, has
not exactly had a spotless record in terms of human rights abuses.

It is interesting to note
that years ago, before the US got involved with the turmoil in Yugoslavia, the
media’s coverage of the Kosovo crisis was considerably less sympathetic to the
KLA.In 1987, the New York Times
reported, with a much more negative slant than is evident in news coverage
today, that this nationalist army was responsible for ethnically motivated
rioting, rape, murder, and other acts of anti-Serb terrorism throughout
Yugoslavia.That the mainstream media
has since then completely realigned with the side that best serves government
interests should prompt public skepticism, yet many Americans continue to
believe that the US is reacting responsibly to a “Humanitarian Crisis.”History, however, points to a dangerous
pattern in America’s military endeavors: The government acts not out of
compassion for oppressed peoples, but out of its desire to dominate the
international political arena.Examples
of this unilateral approach to foreign policy include the senseless bloodshed
of the Vietnam War, the military and economic devastation of Iraqi civilians,
and numerous covert government operations to depose democratic foreign regimes
that threatened our superpower status.

Another belief propagated by the media is that Milosevic refused to
negotiate over the revocation of Kosovo’s autonomy and that bombing was a last
resort.In fact, the terms of the
proposed Rambouillet accord read more like an ultimatum than an attempt at
reconciliation.The Rambouillet text
could easily be interpreted as an encroachment upon any nation’s sovereignty;
they included immunity for NATO personnel from arrest and government
investigation, control over the media of the Yugoslavia, and unrestricted NATO
access throughout the country, “including associated airspace and territorial
waters.”There is also evidence that
NATO refused to consider Milosevic’s demand to have the United Nations oversee
the peacekeeping efforts, and deliberately restricted the role of Yugoslav
leaders in the meetings preceding the bombing.

Further proving how
detrimental to the peace process foreign intervention has been in the Balkans,
the plan to use military action to oust Milosevic has backfired at the expense
of both Kosovars and Serbs. Ironically, the war intensified hatred for NATO,
particularly the US, while strengthening Milosevic’s support base.The bombings have actually contributed to the decline of the
pro-democracy movement in Yugoslavia.

One of the most harrowing symbols of the hypocrisy and cruelty of this
war is the bombing of a state-run television station in Yugoslavia.NATO justified the attack by claiming that
the station spread anti-NATO propaganda, but even if this were true, the
destruction of a nation’s information network by a foreign power is a gross
violation of freedom of speech—a right that Americans fiercely guard.The public should be appalled that a
so-called humanitarian military effort has been reduced to a propaganda war
that attacks the infrastructure upon which millions of Serbian civilians rely.

The Serbians are not the only
people being kept in the dark about the conflict in Kosovo. Although NATO may
have temporarily emerged “victorious,” having bombed the Serbs into submission,
Americans must not let themselves be deluded by those in power.Bombs do not promote human rights, but
acting upon one’s conscience does.Through demonstrating and educating their peers, people can replace
blind patriotism with moral responsibility.Public opposition to NATO’s aggression must persist until a fair and
just resolution is achieved, and with the cooperation of the international
community, a long-term, peaceable solution may not be out of reach.

To
get involved with the opposition to military action in Kosovo, contact:

War
Resisters League

339 Lafayette Street New York, NY 10011

(212)
228-1450

International
Action Ctr.

39
West 14th Street #206

New
York, NY 10012 (212) 633-6646

If
you’re feeling audacious, you might even want to contact the President: